06 February 2015

5 Ways to Travel in Style (long-distance or cross country)

No surprise here but I love to travel.. when I travel with work it's usually with the luxury of sitting in first or business class, but in the real world I can only pretend to have that kind of money. So here are five wonderful ways to make your travels feel like first class while sitting in the back..

1) A really, really great pillow. Travel pillows come in all shapes and sizes but finding one that actually supports your neck is a given. I used one for years that inflated, which was nice on the packing but not that great on the sleeping. I just gave in this year and picked up this baby, the J Pillow. sexy, I know.

but the awesomeness of it is that is supposedly supports all sides of your head. chin, neck, cheek. you name it. I'm going to try it out on my flight to Prague next weekend- wish me luck!

2) Noise-cancellation headphones. No one likes a flight with a crying baby, a screaming passenger or a seatmate that snores. Now again, as much as I would love to purchase a pair $300 Bose, there are many other affordable and quality headphones out there. I recently snagged these babies (used) for $86 on Amazon, and they had free prime shipping. Win!

3) Alcohol. Lets be real- no one wants to pay $10 for an awful drink on a plane, but we have all been there where one would have been super nice. So bring the drink with you! For a few bucks you can pick up an airplane bottle from the liquor store, pack it in your carry-on and then just ask for a coke when the flight attendant comes around. The biggie with this is that technically it is against the law for you to serve yourself on a flight so use some caution- have a drink before you get on the plane, or use discretion when tipping it into your plastic cup.

4) A cozy blanket. Those airplane blankets can suck it. They are never big enough, or warm enough, and those long flights can get cold. Find a cozy blanket it at Marshall's, TJMaxx, RueLaLa or wherever and make yourself a lot happier.Or if anything make sure you back an pashmina or large lightweight scarf.

5) Pack your own food. Airport food is usually junk, airplane food in the back of the plane- just as bad. Make yourself a tasty pasta salad, an array of snacks- fruit, nuts, a few pieces of candy, freeze a yogurt, a stick of hard cheese. Throw it all in a flexible lunch sack (like the one below, cute and will fold up easily when you are finished) and bring it with you. I've never had an issue bringing food through security and it has a lot of pluses- you can eat when you want to (always takes the plane a while to serve), you know you are eating things you like, and you will be saving yourself some money. Don't forget to bring an empty water bottle too- you can refill it after you've gone past the x-rays and scanners!

I just learned the beauty of headphones. How did I go for years without those? Flights are so much more enjoyable now. You'll have to let us know how that pillow worked! I'm in the search for a good one soon.

Great tips! I was wondering about bringing food. I'm definitely packing some food for myself now! I have regular headphones but I might just have to get noise canceling ones. I did pick up some ear plugs for sleeping.

yes, isn't it so nice to know you can bring food through security? liquids still apply so definitely freeze your yogurts and stay away from a soup but i've never had a problem with anything else. I've even brought cold packs with me.

These are such great tips!! I need that pillow. I am that girl on the airplane that falls asleep instantly and starts doing that head nod thing. It startles me awake and the person next to me is like wtf?!? AKA, I am investing in that awesome pillow